Muzaffarnagar: Following CM Yogi Adityanth's lead, Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) MLA Sangeet Som, second time MLA from Sardhana in Uttar Pradesh, on Friday asked the state government to rename Muzaffarnagar as Laxminagar.Speaking to TOI, Som said, “The town was named after a Nawab and now people want to see it as Laxminagar. It’s an age-old demand and must be fulfilled. In fact, there are many other cities whose names need to be changed.”Carving the ‘Hindutva’ angle behind the name-change demand, Som said, “Mughals destroyed Indian's culture, especially things related to Hindutva. In 1633, a Nawab named Muzaffar Ali had changed the name of the town. Muzaffarnagar isn’t the original name of the town. Therefore, I demand to change Muzaffarnagar’s name to Laxminagar.”It is worth mentioning here that Sangeet Som isn’t the only leader demanding the name change. Few weeks ago, Kapil Dev Agarwal, BJP MLA from Muzaffarnagar city, claimed that city was known as Laxminagar and it was Mughals who changed it to Muzaffarnagar.Agarwal also claimed that he had put forth an official proposal in this regard before chief minister Yogi Adityanath last year. According to sources, some other BJP leaders have also written letters demanding the same.Kapil Dev Agarwal had earlier had told TOI that it is not a new demand. He said, “In 1983, the Vishv Hindu Parishad had held a ‘yajna’ in Muzaffarnagar to press its demand to change the town’s name to Laxminagar. Today, we have an opportunity and the name of the district could be changed.”Bajrang Dal has also backed the demand for the name change.

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